Bloomberg Land prices in Tokyo’s central Chuo ward, home to the famous Ginza shopping district, have jumped by 51 percent in four years. In Osaka, they are up by nearly half. Booming construction of hotels, office buildings, shopping centers and apartments, financed by record lending for real estate by Japanese banks, has driven the gains. Now some investors surveying Japan’s …

Bloomberg The head of the US Food and Drug Administration is considering using the agency’s powers to bring more price competition to the market for generic drugs, targeting high-priced products by prioritizing the approval of additional competing treatments. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in an interview that the agency is looking at how to push applications to the front of …

Bloomberg German factory orders fell after two consecutive months of expansion in a sign that growth in Europe’s largest economy may be steadying after a strong start of the year. Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, dropped 2.1 percent in April, after expanding an upwardly revised 1.1 percent in March, data from the Economy Ministry in Berlin showed on …